Should you insure yourself against getting breast cancer? New policy will let you for 99p a month, but beware the smallprint

Cover: Those most at risk - women in their 50s - will actually have to fork out from £6.99 to £16.99

Insurers are flogging low-cost breast cancer cover — so should you take out a policy that costs just 99p a month?

U.S. giant AIG Direct is offering a policy for the disease for less than £1 a month — or £1.99 for premier cover. But those most at risk — women in their 50s — will actually have to fork out from £6.99 to £16.99.

Breast cancer is now the most common form of the disease. One in eight women will get it in their lifetime. Last year, 49,947 people in Britain were diagnosed — 137 every day, according to cancer charity Macmillan. Of these, 80 per cent were aged over 50.

AIG is offering the cheap cover to anyone aged between 18 and 74. The Breast Cancer Cover policy will make a one-off payment of either £10,000 or £25,000 the moment you develop the disease, depending on whether you opt for standard or premier cover. You will also get £50 for each day you spend in hospital within the first 90 days of being diagnosed.

The idea is that this cash is used for living expenses, childcare and travel, rather than covering the cost of treatment.

The majority of cancer patients end up an average of £570 a month worse off as they go through treatment, according to Macmillan’s research.
Many are forced to take a pay cut because they are too ill to work, spend more money on petrol trekking to and from hospitals, and face higher heating bills as they spend more time at home.

While it can cost just 99p a month, the policy is advertised by AIG as costing from £1.99 a month. If you are under 35, you can pay just 99p for standard cover or £1.99 for the premier policy, while those aged between 35 and 39 will pay £1.99 or £3.99.

Once you hit 40, the price jumps to £2.99 or £6.99, and at 45 increases again to £4.99 or £11.99. From 50 you will pay £6.99 or £16.99, and from 65, £8.49 or £20.49.
So £25,000 worth of cover when you are 55 will cost you £203.88 a year, compared with only £23.88 if you are 25 or £47.88 at 35.

There is also no way to avoid paying higher premiums when you are older by buying the policy early, as AIG Direct increases the cost in accordance with your age.
You should also be very wary of the small print of this type of plan.

AIG Direct will not pay out the lump sum if you experience symptoms or are diagnosed within the first 90 days of buying the cover — in these circumstances, it will only pay the hospital benefit.
Usually when you buy critical illness cover, you are protected from day one.

A spokesperson for AIG says: ‘The policy is designed to be simple, easily understood and affordable. We believe it is the only breast cover-only policy available in the UK at the present time.’

You don’t need to provide a family medical history or even declare whether or not you smoke. However, breast cancer is just one of more than 200 types of cancer. Every year 41,935 people are diagnosed with lung cancer, 40,712 with colon, rectal or bowel cancer, and 12,807 with the deadliest form of skin cancer — melanoma.

AIG Direct also offers male and female-specific cancer insurance.
Its female policy, for example, offers between £25,000 and £50,000 worth of cover if you are diagnosed with cancer of the breast, cervix, ovaries or uterus.

Men will be covered should they develop testicular or prostate cancer.
But this will not protect people should they be diagnosed with a non-gender specific cancer such as lung, bowel and skin cancer — three of the five most common types. Nor will these policies cover any previously diagnosed cancer, and you will not be protected if you are diagnosed with a very early form of cancer.

Thanks to routine screening of some cancers, doctors are increasingly spotting potentially dangerous cells before they develop into full-blown cancer — known as ‘pre-malignant cells’.

The discovery of these cells can often mean you still require surgery to remove them and follow-up treatment to ensure they don’t come back.

Screen: The AIG policy pays a sum when cancer sufferers are diagnosed but policyholders pay premiums based on their age.

However, you will not receive a payout in this instance unless you develop a condition known as ductal carcinoma in situ — an early form of breast cancer — as sufferers still usually require a mastectomy.

Insurers say cancer claims account for around 65 per cent of the total number of critical illness cover claims.
However, the next most common conditions claimed for are heart attacks, strokes and multiple sclerosis, which together make up around a further 25 per cent of claims.

Financial adviser Alan Lakey, who set up a specialist website that compares critical insurance policies, says: ‘I’m torn between the opinion that some cover is better than nothing, and thinking insurers are using women’s fears of getting breast cancer to market cheap cover that will leave them woefully unprotected against other serious illnesses.’

Critical illness policies typically provide cover for around 40 different conditions including cancer, heart attack and stroke.
Not all types of cancer are always covered — less-advanced cases such as low-grade prostate cancer and non-life-threatening skin cancer are often excluded.

However, insurers have taken steps to improve their cancer cover in recent years. Most will now make at least a partial payment if you are diagnosed with a less advanced form of cancer.

Critical illness cover also almost always comes with life insurance on top, which will pay out a lump sum to your nearest and dearest in the event of your death.
It’s worth keeping a close eye on costs — so always shop around.

For example, a 35-year-old non-smoker can get £25,000 of life and critical illness cover for just £9.50 a month with Aviva, according to life insurance adviser firm Lifesearch. And this price is guaranteed to stay the same for 25 years.

Industry insiders are also concerned that AIG is using the charity Breast Cancer Care to make it seem as though the policy is backed by experts.
The insurer is promising to donate £1 to Breast Cancer Care for each policy sold.

A spokesperson for Macmillan says: ‘Although the insurance industry is continuing to improve its health protection product offer, there are still complaints of mis-selling, leading to rejected claims and people feeling let down right at the point of diagnosis when they are most vulnerable.’